Methods and systems for stabilizing organic material

ABSTRACT

The present application relates to systems and methods for processing organic material. The methods may include extraction of biochemical nutrients from organic material, such as food scraps. The method can include comminuting the organic material to form a slurry from components comprising liquid and organic material; combining the slurry with microorganisms, such as a yeast, under aerobic conditions to form a mixture of the slurry and yeast; aerating the mixture; and forming a biomass and a nutrient-rich broth, in which the biochemical nutrients are stabilized and anabolized. The systems may, in some embodiments, be configured to perform the methods of processing organic materials.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claimis identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the presentapplication are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 C.F.R. §1.57.

BACKGROUND Description

Food scraps are an accepted consequence of the food production cycle inour society. Food scraps can be a product of any step in the food supplychain. Food scraps can originate from farms, grocery stores, foodtransportation companies, food processing companies, restaurants andother like businesses, and even from our homes. Food scraps are theremnant organic materials from the food supply chain that are notultimately consumed. Food scraps may be variously referred to asputrescible waste, pre- or post-consumer food waste, or a component oforganic waste. Food scraps are the primary embodiment of these systemsand methods, but are intended to be applied to organic material withhigh nutritive value and prior to the onset of uncontrolled rot or decayassociated with the term putrescible waste.

The process of putrification is the result of metabolic activity ofmicroorganisms naturally found on the surface of the vegetable foodscraps or microbial cross-contaminants from animal processing thatcolonize or reside on the surface of animal products. Putrification isthe process that results in rapid, uncontrolled decay of food scraps andresults in foul smelling organic compounds that may also act as attractsfor disease-spreading vermin including insects and mammals.Putrification is often qualitatively characterized by evolution ofvolatile fatty acids and foul smelling polyamines and hydrogen sulfide.Such compounds and gases can easily be identified and quantified in thelaboratory using specialized instrumentation. Prevention of the rapidloss of the valuable, high-energy nutritive biochemicals is the intentof the systems and methods claimed herein. Since the inherentthermodynamic energy and nutritive value is lost in putrid waste, it isunsuitable for the disclosed processes and methods found herein.

Considering a grocery store as the origin of organic waste, for example,in the normal course of business a grocery store may throw away asignificant amount of food scraps that are not suitable for humanconsumption, past their expiration date, or is not aestheticallypleasing for display in the grocery store. The food scraps areconsequently collected from the various departments of the grocery storeand disposed of in a dumpster behind the grocery store. Similarcollection and disposal occurs in other locations along the food supplychain, with similar results—the food scraps being thrown away with lossof nutritive value.

The food scraps, once disposed of, naturally begin to decompose as themicroorganisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi) on the food scraps proliferateand metabolize, causing the food scraps to rot and stink. Vermin, suchas rats and other rodents, as well as flies, are attracted to suchrotting food scraps. The smell of the rotting food scraps and thepresence of the vermin and flies can be a significant nuisance andpotential public health hazard to a grocery store and its employees andneighbors, as well as any other location in the food supply chain. Thus,to deal with the nuisance of rotting and stinking food scraps, a grocerystore must have the food scraps hauled away at regular intervals. Suchremoval costs are increasingly expensive and are borne by the grocerystore as a recurring cost.

Food scraps will rot and decompose after disposal because the existingmicroorganisms on the food scraps grow rapidly and decompose thecellular structure (e.g., cellulose, etc.) and the biochemical nutrients(e.g., vitamins, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, etc.) that make up thefood. Decomposition by the microorganisms involves the breakdown oforganic material into simpler carbon molecules, ultimately producingacids, methane, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide. This decompositionof the organic material in the food scraps to simpler molecules isreferred to as catabolism.

Food scraps are disposed of in a number of ways. Often the food scrapsare disposed of in a regular landfill along with non-organic garbage ormixed with yard waste or land-clearing waste for conversion to compost.In the United States alone some 34 million tons of food scraps isproduced each year and nearly 33 million tons is committed to landfillsfor disposal. However, decomposing food waste is a nuisance and presentsenvironmental issues, such as pollution hazards and nuisance issues.Rainwater percolates through landfills, where food waste is deposited,and leads to heavy metals and minerals leaching, thus contributing tothe contamination of soils, surface water and ground water. Decayingwaste emits greenhouse gases which subsequently cause significantenvironmental concern.

Beyond landfill disposal, attempts have been made to address theenvironmental concerns and capitalize on the catabolic degradation offood scraps. One approach has been to conduct processing of the foodscraps using selected bacteria in an anaerobic environment to enhancethe catabolic process. This process of anaerobic digestion attempts tocapture the methane produced from the catabolic process and use thecaptured methane as an energy source. However, methane capture from foodscraps recycling has proven to be extremely inefficient and has, in someinstances, been a net negative source of energy. Methane capture viaanaerobic processing also still requires the grocery store or otherlocation in the food supply chain to pay high disposal fees for removaland transport of the food scraps to the anaerobic digestion facility.

Another approach to dealing with the food scraps has been to compost thefood scraps. Composting is a human-controlled biological decay processthat turns the food scraps into heat, carbon dioxide, ammonium, andincompletely decayed organic matter. The result of the controlled decayprocess is a humus-like material that is most often used as a soilamendment. The compost is characterized more by its value as a soilamendment resulting in greater moisture carrying capacity, than itsintrinsic nutritive value. In addition the nitrogen containing compoundsproduced by composting can be used to produce fertilizer. However,significant amounts of the nutrients in the original food scraps arelost in the catabolic process resulting in the wasteful production ofheat and carbon dioxide. Composting, like methane capture throughanaerobic digestion, also still requires the grocery store or otherlocation in the food supply chain to pay high disposal fees for removaland transport of the food scraps.

Many other systems and methods have been described for disposal of foodscraps/organic waste. These systems generally consist of methods fordecreasing bulk volume of the waste and a) use of the shredded foodwaste as animal feed or b) disposal through the sanitary sewer systemwhere the organic material is again catabolized (controlled oruncontrolled) by microorganisms from many different Domains and Phyla.Disposal in this manner results in much of the carbon and nitrogenmaterial being lost through carbon dioxide or methane. Disposal oforganic through the sanitary sewer system transfers the hazards andproblems of decaying food waste to the local or regional water treatmentplant, but ultimately results in the loss of thermodynamic energy in thefood scraps and the generation of greenhouse gases.

Thus, previous attempts at addressing the nuisance of food scraps havesought value in the transport and disposal in landfills (so-calledtipping fees) or in catabolic (degradative) byproducts of the decomposedfood scraps such as methane capture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating one example of salvaging thebiochemical nutrients in food scraps within the scope of the presentapplication.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating one example for extracting thebiochemical nutrient content of food scraps within the scope of thepresent application.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating one example for anabolizing andstabilizing biochemical nutrients within the scope of the presentapplication.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating one example for determining thewater amount and comminution duration for extracting the biochemicalnutrient content of food scraps into a slurry.

FIG. 5A is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system forextracting the biochemical nutrients from organic material andstabilizing and/or anabolizing the biochemical nutrients.

FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system forextracting the biochemical nutrients from organic material andstabilizing and/or anabolizing the biochemical nutrients.

FIG. 5C is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system forextracting the biochemical nutrients from organic material andstabilizing and/or anabolizing the biochemical nutrients.

FIG. 5D is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system forextracting the biochemical nutrients from organic material andstabilizing and/or anabolizing the biochemical nutrients.

FIG. 5E is a schematic diagram illustrating one example of a system forextracting the biochemical nutrients from organic material andstabilizing and/or anabolizing the biochemical nutrients.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of a deliveryapparatus for delivery of organic material, analysis of organicmaterial, and transmission of data.

FIG. 6B is a top plan view illustrating one embodiment of a deliveryapparatus for delivery of organic material, analysis of organicmaterial, and transmission of data.

FIG. 6C is a side plan view illustrating one embodiment of a deliveryapparatus for delivery of organic material, analysis of organicmaterial, and transmission of data.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The systems and methods disclosed may be applied to organic materialgenerally, particularly to organic material having high nutritive valueand prior to the onset of uncontrolled rot or decay associated withputrescible waste. The systems and methods may be described herein withregard to food scraps as an embodiment of the organic materialcontemplated. Despite being considered unsuitable for human or animalconsumption, food scraps contain a high level of valuable nutritionwhich can be extracted, stabilized, and reused in controlled anabolicprocesses. The food scraps can yield nutrient-rich materials that mayhave various agricultural uses. Rather than allow the biochemicalnutrients found in food scraps to catabolize and utilize only thecatabolic products of the food scraps, the systems and methods disclosedherein capture both the inherent thermodynamic energy of complexbiomolecules, as well as, the nutritive value of the biochemicalcompounds found in the food scraps before the nutrients can be lost tonatural catabolic processes.

The disclosure provides systems and methods that capitalize on theavailable biochemical nutrients found in food scraps by extracting thebiochemical nutrients from food scraps before the nutrients are degradedor catabolized by harmful microorganisms. Following extraction, thebiochemical nutrients found in food scraps can be stabilized or thenprocessed anabolically and utilized by specially selected, and seededbeneficial microorganisms. This uniform, increased biomass can beharvested and held for later processing into valuable products, such asplant fertilizer, soil amendment, organic fertilizer, and otherdownstream agricultural or consumer products.

Systems and methods disclosed herein involve the extraction ofbiochemical nutrients from organic waste, such as food scraps. The foodscraps can be comminuted in the presence of water to extract thebiochemical nutrients and produce a slurry of organic particulatematter. The amount of water provided to the comminution device may be afunction of a food category of the food scraps and may be a function ofthe weight or amount of food scraps being comminuted.

Systems and methods disclosed herein involve the aerobic respiration ofa beneficial microorganism, such as single-cell yeast, to stabilize oranabolize the biochemical nutrients extracted from the organic waste.Once the biochemical nutrients have been extracted from the organicwaste the nutrients can be mixed with the beneficial microorganism(s)under aerobic conditions to stabilize the nutrients in solution and alsoused to produce a nutrient-rich biomass of selected and culturedmicroorganisms.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram representing one example of the method 110 forusing organic waste, such as, for example food scraps, received from asource in the food supply chain, to salvage the biochemical nutrients inthe organic waste. As illustrated in FIG. 1, method 110 may include oneor more functions, operations, or actions as illustrated by one or moreoperations 112-118. Operations 112-118 may include the “Receiving FoodScraps” operation 112, “Extracting the Biochemical Nutrients from theFood Scraps” operation 114, “Anabolizing the Biochemical Nutrients”operation 116, and “Stabilizing the Biochemical Nutrients” operation118.

Method 110 may begin at operation 112, “Receiving Food Scraps.” Inoperation 112, food scraps are received for processing. The food scrapsreceived in operation 112 may originate from any location along the foodsupply chain. For example, the food scraps received may come from anagricultural farm, dairy farm, food processing business, foodtransportation business, grocery store, warehouse store, restaurant,residence, and the like.

Non-limiting examples of food scraps that may be received in operation112 include, for example, pre- or post-consumer food scraps. Someexamples of food scraps include, but are not limited to, dairy (e.g.,milk, cheese, etc.), meat (e.g., poultry, beef, fish, pork, etc.),grains (e.g., bread, crackers, pasta), fruits, and vegetables.Illustratively, food scraps can correspond to a variety of food types orcategorizations of food. As one example, the food scraps may be unsoldor expired food from a food retailer. As another example, food scrapsmay be uneaten food or scraps from a restaurant or the delicatessensection of a grocery store. As another example, the food scraps may beuneaten or leftover food from a residence, such as a home, dormitory, orapartment complex. In one embodiment, the food scraps can include otherorganic material, such as, for example, flowers or house plants, etc.

Operation 112 may be followed by operation 114, “Extracting BiochemicalNutrients from Food Scraps.” The food scraps received in operation 112may contain biochemical nutrients in their highest thermodynamic statebefore the nutrients have become subject to metabolic degradation (e.g.,catabolism) brought about by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.The methods and systems are appropriate for extracting the biochemicalnutrients from the food scraps before the nutrients are catabolized.Extracting the biochemical nutrients in the highest thermodynamic stateretains both the energy value and the nutritive value of the biochemicalcompounds and allows the nutrients to be used or recovered downstream ina variety of applications. Additionally, by extracting the biochemicalnutrients before degradation of the nutrients begins in any significantmanner, the food scraps may be prevented from rotting and stinking.Maintaining a clean, vermin- and odor-free environment can be asignificant benefit to the producer of the food scraps. Systems andmethods for extracting the biochemical nutrients from the food scrapsare described in further detail herein.

Biochemical nutrients that can be extracted from the food scrapsinclude, but are not limited to, the following: proteins and aminoacids, lipids and fatty acids, carbohydrates and simple sugars, vitaminsand hormones, fiber, cellulose, nucleic acids and polyamines, etc. In areview of the class and functions of biochemical products in plants, itis suggested that the number of known plant chemicals range from 2,750to 5,000. (Chemical from Plants; N J Walton and D E Brown, EDS; 1999;World Scientific Press; Chapter 1; Classes and Functions of SecondaryProducts from Plants; Jeffrey B. Harbone; pp. 1-26)

Operation 114 may be followed by operation 116, “Anabolizing theBiochemical Nutrients” and/or operation 118, “Stabilizing theBiochemical Nutrients.” Once the biochemical nutrients are extractedfrom the food scraps, the nutrients can be anabolized or stabilized insome fashion to maintain or enhance the thermodynamic state of thebiochemical nutrients and prevent the nutrients from degrading.Stabilization and anabolization of the biochemical nutrients allows thenutrients to be later processed and used in this stable or enhancedthermodynamic state.

Regarding operation 116, anabolization of the biochemical nutrients caninvolve using beneficial microorganisms in a specific environment andunder certain conditions to take up the biochemical nutrients to formnew biochemical nutrients and to promote cell division and growth of themicroorganisms. Anabolization, as disclosed herein, involves forming abiomass of living material made up of the microorganisms in which themicroorganisms can be sustained and made available for later utilizationin further processing. Thus, the microorganisms may use the biochemicalnutrients extracted from the food scraps as nutrition to intracellularlybuild new biochemical and cellular infrastructure, allowing themicroorganisms to multiply through cellular division. Anabolization ofthe biochemical nutrients into a biomass may be facilitated underaerobic conditions through aerobic respiration of the microorganisms.

In one non-limiting example, a yeast or other fungi can be used as thebeneficial microorganism to anabolize the biochemical nutrients. As theaerobic respiration of the yeast is facilitated by the extractednutrients from the food scraps, both the mass and quantity of the yeastin the biomass can increase. In one example, the number of yeast mayincrease 100 fold over a 7-10 day time period, with a two-fold increasein biomass (dry weight) of individual organisms.

One example of a yeast that may be use to anabolize the extractedbiochemical nutrients into a biomass is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Underanaerobic conditions, S. cerevisiae, will ferment simple sugars,converting the sugars to acids, gases, and/or alcohols as toxic endproducts of metabolism. However, under aerobic conditions, a S.cerevisiae are able to anabolize the sugars, taking the sugars up andusing the sugars and oxygen for sustainable respiration and growth.Unlike the regular disposal of food scraps as garbage, which facilitatesdegradation of the biochemical nutrients within hours of disposal, theextracted biochemical anabolized into a biomass can be maintained forseveral weeks, using the herein described systems and methods. Otheryeasts may be used under aerobic conditions to facilitate anabolizationand stabilization of the biochemical nutrients, such as microorganismsin the Domain Fungi and Phylum Ascomycota, including Candida (Yarrowia)lipolytica and Candida utilis.

Regarding operation 118, “Stabilizing the Biochemical Nutrients,”stabilization of the biochemical nutrients can involve using certainbeneficial microorganisms under certain conditions to maintain andstabilize the biochemical nutrients in a nutrient-rich broth whichprevents the biochemical nutrients from catabolizing. It was discoveredthat the S. cerevisiae is able to stabilize the biochemical nutrientsthat are not anabolized by the microorganisms, thus forming anutrient-broth of biochemical nutrients. Without being confined to anyparticular theory as to the mechanism, it was discovered that in thepresence of S. cerevisiae under aerobic conditions, the extractedbiochemical nutrients do not putrefy, rot, or stink. Unlike the disposalof food scraps as garbage, which facilitates degradation of thebiochemical nutrients within hours of disposal, the extractedbiochemical held in a nutrient-rich broth can be stabilized for severalweeks.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram representing one example of a method 210 forextracting the biochemical nutrient content of food scraps within thescope of the present application. As illustrated in FIG. 2, method 210may include one or more functions, operations, or actions as illustratedby one or more operations 212-220. Operations 212-220 may include the“Receiving Food Scraps” operation 212, “Mixing Water With the FoodScraps” operation 214, “Comminuting the Food Scraps and Water to Form aSlurry” operation 216, “Hydrolyzing the Slurry” operation 218, and“Pasteurizing the Slurry” operation 220. The method 210 shown in FIG. 2can be an embodiment of the operation 114 (“Extracting BiochemicalNutrients from the Food Scraps”) shown in FIG. 1. Like operation 114,method 210 is a particular method for extracting biochemical nutrientsfrom food scraps.

In FIG. 2, operations 212-220 are illustrated as being performedsequentially, with operation 212 performed first and operation 220performed last. It will be appreciated however that some operations maybe re-ordered as convenient to suit particular embodiments, and thatsome operations may be performed concurrently in some embodiments. Itwill also be appreciated that some operations are optional to thesuccessful completion of method 210.

Method 210 may begin at operation 212, “Receiving Food Scraps.”Operation 212 can correspond to operation 112 of method 110 in FIG. 1.In operation 212, food scraps are received for processing. The foodscraps received in operation 212 may originate from any location alongthe food supply chain.

Operation 212 may be followed by operation 214, “Mixing Water with FoodScraps.” The water may be added to the food scraps received before,during, and/or after the food scraps are comminuted, as discussed below.The water may be, for example, potable water from a municipal watersource or a well. The water may be, for example, stored in a tank. Thetemperature of the water supplied to the food scraps can be sufficientlyhigh to assist in the hydrolysis of the food scraps and emulsificationof any lipids in the food scraps. In one embodiment, the temperature ofthe water mixed with the food scraps can be, for example between ambienttemperature and 200° F. For example, in one embodiment, the temperatureof water mixed with the food scraps can be 140° F., which is the minimumfood safe temperature. Using water with an elevated temperature can bebeneficial in killing harmful microbes and bacteria residing on the foodscraps.

The relative amount of water mixed with the food scraps may varydepending upon multiple factors, such as the amount (e.g., weight) ofthe food scraps received. The relative amount of water mixed with thefood scraps may also vary depending on the type of food, or foodcategory, received for processing. As discussed in detail below withrelation to FIG. 3, the amount of water mixed with the food scraps canbe optimized to prepare the resultant slurry for aerobic anabolizationand stabilization conditions.

Operation 214 may be followed by operation 216, “Comminuting the FoodScraps and Water to Form a Slurry.” In operation 214, the food scrapscan be formed into a slurry through comminuting the food scraps. In oneembodiment, the water is mixed with the food scraps during comminutionof the food scraps. In another embodiment, the water is mixed with thefood scraps prior to comminution of the food scraps. In someembodiments, the food scraps may be reduced to liquid and smallparticulates (e.g., through comminution). The particulates of the slurrycan be the solid food particles remaining after the slurry is formed andthe particulates may become suspended in the liquid composition. Ascomminution continues, and the food scraps are broken down, a slurry canbegin to form. The slurry formation may be assisted by the presence ofthe water added to the food scraps. Thus, the slurry can be a mixture ofthe resultant particulates of food scraps following comminution and thewater added to the food scraps, such that the biochemical nutrients andother material released from the food scraps are a part of the liquidcomposition.

Any suitable method for comminuting the organic materials can be used.For example, the food scraps may be subjected to grinding, cutting,crushing, milling, macerating, hydro-pulping, and the like. In theprocess of comminution, the pieces of individual food scraps can bebroken into smaller and smaller particulates by the shear force of thecomminution process until the desired particulate size is reached.Comminution can break down the structure of the food scraps. The shearforces applied to the particulates of the food scraps can break apartthe extracellular material holding the food scraps together. In theprocess of breaking the food scraps into smaller and smaller pieces, theorganic cellular material of the cells can be become exposed to theshear forces of a specially selected comminution device. The shearforces can lyse the cells to release the biochemical nutrients into thewater added to the food scraps and the resultant slurry being formed.The process of comminution results in a very rapid release of thebiochemical nutrients found in the food scraps. As discussed below, thebiochemical nutrients can be released into the slurry in a matter ofminutes. This near-instantaneous release of the nutrients is contrastedwith composting, which requires several weeks to accomplish theextraction of nutrients from the decomposing food scraps.

The size of the particulate formed from the food scraps in comminutionmay vary and may be selected, in part, based upon the downstreamrequirements for stabilizing and anabolizing the extracted biochemicalnutrients. In one embodiment, the target particulate size resulting fromcomminution can be based on the intent to extract as much of thebiochemical nutrients from the food scraps as possible. The particulateresulting from comminution may have an average size of, for example, nomore than about 10 mm; no more than about 8 mm; no more than about 5 mm;no more than about 3 cm; or no more than about 1 mm. The particulatesmay have an average size of, for example, at least about 500 μm; atleast about 1 mm; at least about 2 mm; at least about 3 mm; at leastabout 5 mm; at least about 8 mm; and at least about 10 mm. In someembodiments, the particulates have an average size of about 1 mm toabout 5 mm. Non-limiting examples for the average particle size includeabout 2 mm, about 3 mm, about 5 mm, about 8 mm, or about 10 mm. Asdiscussed in detail below with relation to FIG. 3, the duration ofcomminution can be optimized to prepare the resultant slurry for aerobicanabolization and stabilization conditions. If the particulate size istoo large, aeration of the mixture of the slurry and the yeast may bedifficult, as discussed below.

The amount, or total solids, of solid organic material (e.g., theparticulates) remaining in the slurry following comminution of the foodscraps may be, for example, at least about 1% (w/w); at least about 5%(w/w); at least about 10% (w/w); at least about 15% (w/w); at leastabout 20% (w/w); or at least about 25% (w/w). The amount of organicmaterial in the slurry may be, for example, no more than about 25%(w/w); no more than about 20% (w/w); no more than about 15% (w/w); nomore than about 10% (w/w); no more than about 5%; no more than about 1%.In some embodiments, the amount of organic material in the slurry isfrom about 5% to about 15%. Non-limiting examples for the amount ofsolid organic material in the slurry include about 5% (w/w), about 6%(w/w), about 7% (w/w), about 8% (w/w), about 9% (w/w), about 10% (w/w),about 11% (w/w), about 12% (w/w), about 13% (w/w), about 14% (w/w), orabout 15% (w/w).

Operation 216 can be followed by operation 218, “Hydrolyzing theSlurry.” Operation 218 allows for the hydrolysis of the particulates inthe slurry and can further enhance extraction of the biochemicalnutrients from the food scraps into the slurry. During operation 218,the slurry can be treated with hydrolytic enzymes to hydrolyze theparticulate organic material in the slurry. The hydrolytic enzymes canact to further break down the particulate matter by degradation of theorganic structural material binding the particulates and can thusrelease additional biochemical nutrients into the slurry. Hydrolyticenzymes that can used during operation 218 include, but are not limitedto, proteases, lipases, disaccharidases, cellulases, lignocellulases,and the like.

Operation 218 can be followed by operation 220, “Pasteurizing theSlurry.” Operation 220 allows for pasteurization of the biochemicalnutrients and particulates in the slurry in order to sterilize theslurry and reduce the number of viable pathogens (e.g., microbes) in theslurry. Pasteurizing the slurry can be accomplished by heating theslurry to a specific temperature for a predefined length of time and, ifnecessary to protect a particular component, immediately cooling it. Itwill be appreciated that a side effect of pasteurizing the slurry isthat some vitamin and mineral content may be lost to degradation.However, because the loss of nutrients is small in comparison to thelarge amount of biochemical nutrients remaining in the slurry,pasteurization provides a viable approach to reducing the numbers ofpathogenic microorganisms in the slurry prior to anabolizing andstabilizing the biochemical nutrients.

Any method suitable for pasteurizing the slurry can be used. The skilledartisan, guided by the teachings of the present application, canidentify appropriate temperatures and time periods for heating in orderto pasteurize the slurry. In some embodiments, the pasteurizing caninclude heating the slurry at a pre-determined temperature for apre-determined period of time. In some embodiments, the pre-determinedtemperature and pre-determined period of time are effective to reducemicrobial activity in the slurry. In some embodiments, the slurry ismaintained at a temperature in a range of about 140° F. to about 200° F.during pasteurization. For example, the temperature of the slurry may bemaintained at a temperature of at least about 140° F.; at least about150° F.; at least about 160° F.; at least about 170° F.; at least about180° F.; at least about 190° F.; at least about 200° F. In someembodiments, the temperature of the slurry may be maintained at atemperature of no more than about 140° F.; no more than about 150° F.;no more than about 160° F.; no more than about 170° F.; no more thanabout 180° F.; no more than about 190° F.; no more than about 200° F.

The period of time for heating the slurry during pasteurization can bebetween about 5 minutes to about 30 minutes. For example, the slurry maybe heated for at least about 5 minutes; for at least about 10 minutes;for at least about 15 minutes; or for at least about 20 minutes.Likewise, in some embodiments, the slurry may be heated for no more thanabout 5 minutes; for no more than about 10 minutes; for no more thanabout 15 minutes; or for no more than about 20 minutes. The skilledartisan will readily understand the variable combinations of temperatureand time period can be used to effectively pasteurize the slurry. In onenon-limiting example, the temperature of the slurry can be maintained ata temperature of 180° F. for a period of between about 10 minutes to 20minutes for successful pasteurization of the slurry.

Although operation 218, hydrolyzing the slurry, is shown in FIG. 2 asbeing performed prior to operation 220, pasteurizing the slurry, theoperation of pasteurizing the slurry may also be performed before theoperation of hydrolyzing the slurry. Also, in certain embodiments,pasteurizing the slurry can be performed concurrently with hydrolyzingthe slurry. In this manner, the hydrolysis of the slurry and thepasteurization of the slurry can be conducted in the same physicallocation under the same physical conditions, and also at the same time.In some embodiments, the slurry may be pasteurized without alsohydrolyzing the slurry. In some embodiments, the slurry may hydrolyzedwithout also pasteurizing the slurry. It will be appreciated thatoperations 218 and 220 follow the operation of comminuting the foodscraps in operation 216 in which the biochemical nutrients are extractedfrom the food scraps. Thus, in this regard, operations 218 and 220 areoptional to the completion of method 210 shown in FIG. 2, and may beexcluded from the method. In one embodiment, operations 218 and 220 arenot performed and instead the slurry resulting from comminuting the foodscraps in operation 216 is immediately available for further processingor for anabolization and stabilization.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram representing one example of a method 310 foranabolizing and stabilizing biochemical nutrients within the scope ofthe present application. As illustrated in FIG. 2, method 310 mayinclude one or more functions, operations, or actions as illustrated byone or more operations 312-320. Operations 312-320 may include the“Receiving Food Scraps” operation 312, “Mixing the Slurry with a Yeast”operation 314, “Aerating the Mixture” operation 316, “Anabolizing theBiochemical Nutrients” operation 318, and “Stabilizing the BiochemicalNutrients” operation 320. The method 310 shown in FIG. 3 may be aparticular embodiment of the operations 116 and 118 shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 3, operations 312-320 are illustrated as being performedsequentially, with operation 312 performed first and operation 320performed last. It will be appreciated however that some operations maybe re-ordered as convenient to suit particular embodiments, and thatsome operations may be performed concurrently in some embodiments. Itwill also be appreciated that some operations are optional to thesuccessful completion of method 310.

Method 310 may begin at operation 312, “Receiving the Slurry.” Inoperation 312, a slurry of biochemical nutrients and food particles isreceived for anabolization and stabilization of the biochemicalnutrients found in the slurry. The slurry received in operation 312 maybe a slurry of particulates suspended or mixed in a liquid solution andthe liquid solution may also contain biochemical nutrients. The slurrymay be received from operations performed in method 210 in which thebiochemical nutrients are extracted from food scraps. Thus, the slurryreceived in operation 312 may be a derivative or result of operation216, 218, or 220 in method 210, shown in FIG. 2. Alternatively, theslurry may instead be received from other operations or methods. Theslurry received in operation 312 may be a collection or combination ofdifferent slurries produced from different batches of food scraps andnow combined in method 310.

Operation 314 may be followed by operation 314, “Mixing the Slurry witha Yeast.” In operation 314, the slurry received is mixed with a yeast.In one embodiment, the slurry is mixed with the yeast is Saccharomycescerevisiae. S. cerevisiae is a eukaryotic single-cell species of yeastand a member of the fungi kingdom. In one embodiment, the slurryreceived in operation 312 may be added to an existing batch of yeastalready in solution and that had been previously used to anabolize andstabilize a previous batch of slurry. In another embodiment, fresh or anew species of yeast may be added to the slurry. The slurry and theyeast may be mixed together in any manner sufficient to achievehomogeneity between the slurry and the yeast. In one embodiment, theyeast and the slurry may be stirred in order to achieve homogeneity ofthe mixture. In another embodiment, the yeast and the slurry may bemixed through air lift or bubbling of the mixture, such as throughaeration of the mixture, as discussed below. The amount of yeast mixedwith the slurry may depend on the quantity of food scraps initiallyreceived. In one embodiment, the amount of yeast mixed can beapproximately 100,000 organisms per ml (final volume) or 1,000,000organisms per ml or 10,000,000 organisms per ml.

Operation 314 may be followed by operation 316, “Aerating the Mixture.”Aerating the mixture may involve supplying oxygen to the mixture of theyeast and slurry. Under anaerobic or otherwise unfavorable conditions,S. cerevisiae, can ferment or otherwise degrade the biochemicalnutrients in the slurry. However, it was discovered that under aerobicconditions, such degradation of the biochemical nutrients in the slurrydoes not occur. Aeration of the mixture of yeast and slurry can beaccomplished in any manner to sufficiently distribute the oxygen throughthe mixture. In one embodiment, aeration of the mixture can beaccomplished by diffused aeration, by pumping compressed air under themixture and allowing the air to bubble up or diffuse back up through themixture. In one embodiment, aeration of the mixture by diffused aerationalso acts to homogenously mix the mixture. Thus, in one embodiment,operations 314 and 316 can be accomplished through a single step ofaerating the mixture, such that the aeration process provides therequisite oxygen to the mixture and also acts to mix the yeast with thebiochemical nutrients.

The oxygen content of the mixture can be varied to optimize thestabilization and anabolization conditions for the biochemicalnutrients. For example, the extent to which the mixture is aerated canbe adjusted to maintain a desired oxygen content in the mixture.Furthermore, the extent of aeration can be adjusted to maintain themixture in a quiescent condition. For example, if the mixture isvigorously aerated, too much oxygen may be provided to the mixture andmay unintentionally stimulate the metabolic activity of the remainingdetrimental microbes (e.g., bacteria) in the mixture, causing themicrobes to out-grow (out-compete) the yeast. Aeration can be performedat ambient temperature and pressure. The process may be described as anopen vessel, aerobic, closed loop system.

To optimize the stabilization and anabolization conditions for thebiochemical nutrients, the dissolved oxygen content in the mixture maybe maintained at, for example, at least about 0.5 ppm(parts-per-million); at least about 1 ppm; at least about 2 ppm; atleast about 3 ppm; at least about 4 ppm; at least about 5 ppm; at leastabout 6 ppm; at least about 7 ppm; or at least about 8 ppm. Thedissolved oxygen content in the mixture may be maintained at forexample, no more than about 8 ppm; no more than about 7 ppm; no morethan about 6 ppm; no more than about 5 ppm; no more than about 4 ppm; nomore than about 3 ppm; no more than about 2 ppm; no more than about 1ppm; or no more than about 0.5 ppm. In some embodiments, the oxygencontent in the mixture is maintained at between about 1 ppm and 3 ppm.Non-limiting examples for the oxygen content in the mixture includeabout 0.5 ppm, about 1 ppm, about 1.5 ppm, about 2 ppm, about 2.5 ppm,or about 3 ppm.

As discussed above, the particulate size of the organic material in theslurry can be maintained below a desired diameter. If the particulatesize is too large, aeration of the mixture of the slurry and the yeastmay be difficult because the aeration process may be unable to lift anylarger organic particles. Thus, it may be of significant importance toobtain a desired particulate size following comminution of the foodparticles in order to sufficiently extract the biochemical nutrientsform the food scraps, but also to ensure that the mixture of the slurryand the yeast can be sufficiently aerated.

Operation 316 may be followed by operations 318 and 320, “Anabolizingthe Biochemical Nutrients,” and “Stabilizing the Biochemical Nutrients,”respectively. Anabolization and stabilization of the biochemicalnutrients can be a result of the optimized aeration and mixing of theyeast in the presence of the biochemical nutrients in the slurry.Through anabolization and stabilization of the biochemical nutrientsextracted from the food scraps, the nutrients that might otherwise belost to catabolism can be preserved and utilized in a variety ofvaluable ways. For example, the nutrients can be processed downstreamand used to make and enhance agricultural fertilizer. Operation 318 cancorrespond to operation 116 of method 110 in FIG. 1 and operation 320can correspond to operation 118 of method 110 in FIG. 1.

As discussed above with relation to operation 116 in FIG. 1,anabolization of the biochemical nutrients, such as in operation 318,can involve using the yeast to take up the biochemical nutrients to formnew biochemical nutrients and to promote cell division and growth of theyeast. Anabolization, can involve the formation of a biomass of yeast inwhich the yeast are sustained and made available for later utilizationin further processing, to form, for example, fertilizers and otheragriculturally-useful products.

As discussed above with relation to operation 118, stabilization of thebiochemical nutrients, such as in operation 320, can involve using theyeast under aerobic conditions to maintain and stabilize the biochemicalnutrients in a nutrient-rich broth. Maintaining the biochemicalnutrients in this elevated thermodynamic state without undo catabolismis accomplished by the systems and methods disclosed herein. It wasdiscovered that the S. cerevisiae is able to stabilize the biochemicalnutrients that are not anabolized by the yeast to form a nutrient-brothof biochemical nutrients. Without being confined to any particulartheory as to the mechanism, it was discovered that in the presence of S.cerevisiae under aerobic conditions, the extracted biochemical nutrientsdo not putrefy, rot, or stink. Unlike the disposal of food scraps asgarbage, which will begin to catabolize, and as a consequence, rot andstink within hours of disposal, the extracted biochemical nutrients heldin the nutrient-rich broth can be stabilized for several weeks withoutany observable signs of rot or putrification. For example, in oneembodiment the aerated mixture of biochemical nutrients and yeast can beheld without significant catabolism of the biochemical nutrients for upto at least about 1 month, at least about 3 weeks, at least about 2weeks. The aerated mixture of biochemical nutrients and yeast can beheld for up to, for example, at least about 13 days; at least about 12days; at least about 12 days; at least about 11 days; at least about 10days; at least about 9 days; at least about 8 days; at least about 7days; at least about 6 days; at least about 5 days; at least about 4days; at least about 3 days; at least about 2 days; or least for 1 day.

The yeast, under the appropriate aerobic conditions, acts as acompetitor to other microorganisms for the limiting biochemicalnutrients such as simple sugars. Without being limited to a theory ofthe actual underlying biological manifestations, without the competitionof the yeast, other microorganisms would catabolize the biochemical,resulting putrification (putrefaction) and rot of the biochemicalnutrients. Under the appropriate aerobic conditions, the yeast is ableto competitively take up and anabolize or stabilize the biochemicalnutrients that would otherwise be available to the other catabolizingmicroorganisms. In this manner, the yeast is able to suppress the growthof the catabolizing microorganisms by limiting the available biochemicalnutrients.

In one embodiment, it has been observed that the aerated mixture ofbiochemical nutrients and the yeast can be maintained for at least 7-10days without signs of putrification, such as foul odor, thus indicatingthat the biochemical nutrients are stabilized. It has also been observedthat the number of yeast can increase 100 fold over a 7-10 day timeperiod, with a two-fold increase in biomass (dry weight) of individualorganisms, thus suggesting that a portion of the biochemical nutrientsare anabolized.

As disclosed herein, the aerated mixture of slurry and yeast can resultin the preservation of the biochemical nutrients through bothanabolization and stabilization of the nutrients in a nutrient-richbroth. It certain embodiments, the amount of biochemical nutrientspreserved can anabolization or stabilization can vary. It is to beunderstood that some amount of the extracted biochemical nutrients maybe lost to CO₂ production as a natural result of yeast respiration. Suchloss is to be expected given the maintenance or eventual growth of theyeast biomass. Such loss is distinguishable from the uncontrolled lossof CO₂ and biomass resulting from putrification.

The amount of biochemical nutrients stabilized versus the amount ofbiochemical nutrients anabolized can vary. In one embodiment, themajority of the biochemical nutrients are stabilized in thenutrient-rich broth. The percentage of the biochemical nutrientsstabilized in the nutrient-rich broth versus anabolized by the yeast canbe, for example, greater than approximately 85%; can be greater thanapproximately 75%; can be greater than approximately 60%; can be greaterthan approximately 50%. That is, in certain embodiments, the percentageof the nutrient-rich broth that is anabolized versus stabilized can beless than approximately 15%; less than approximately 25%; less thanapproximately 40%; can be less than approximately 50%.

In certain embodiments, the percentage of the total amount ofbiochemical nutrients that are stabilized can be, for example, greaterthan approximately 85% of the total mass; can be greater thanapproximately 75% of the total mass; can be greater than approximately60% of the total mass; can be greater than approximately 50% of thetotal mass. In certain embodiments, the percentage of total amount ofbiochemical nutrients that are anabolized can be, for example, less thanapproximately 15%; can be less than approximately 25%; can be less thanapproximately 40%; can be less than approximately 50%.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram representing one example of a method 410 fordetermining the water amount and comminution duration for extracting thebiochemical nutrient content of food scraps into a slurry. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, method 410 may include one or more functions,operations, or actions as illustrated by one or more operations 412-420.Operations 412-420 may include the “Receiving Food Scraps” operation412, “Weighing Food Scraps” operation 414, “Determining Food Category”operation 416, “Determining Water Amount” operation 418, and“Determining Comminution Duration” operation 420. As discussed below,the method 410 shown in FIG. 4 can be complementary to the operationsperformed in method 210 of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 4, operations 412-420 are illustrated as being performedsequentially, with operation 412 performed first and operation 420performed last, and operations 414 and 416 being performed concurrently.It will be appreciated, however, that some operations may be re-orderedas convenient to suit particular embodiments, and that some operationsmay be performed concurrently in some embodiments. It will also beappreciated that some operations are optional to the successfulcompletion of method 410.

Method 410 may begin at operation 412, “Receiving Food Scraps.”Operation 412 can correspond to operation 212 of method 210 in FIG. 2.In operation 412, food scraps are received for processing. The foodscraps received in operation 412 may originate from any location alongthe food supply chain from farm to ultimate consumer.

Operation 412 may be followed by operation 414, “Weighing the FoodScraps.” In operation 414, the food scraps received in operation 412 areweighed to determine the weight of the food scraps received. The foodscraps can be weighed in a variety of ways. In one embodiment, the foodscraps can be weighed directly on a weighing device, such as a scale. Inanother embodiment, the relative weight of the food scraps can bedetermined by measuring the tare weight of the unit receiving the foodweight and a gross weight of the unit after the food scraps arereceived. In this manner, the weight of the food scraps is calculated asthe difference between the gross weight and the tare weight of the unitreceiving the food scraps. In one non-limiting example, the gross weightand tare weight of the unit receiving the food scraps can be measuredusing one or more load cells located in the unit.

The amount of the food scraps received as part of many of the methodsdescribed herein can vary depending on the structure and equipment usedin the system for processing the food scraps. In one embodiment, aminimum amount of food scraps is required for the operation of thedisclosed methods. In one embodiment, a maximum amount of food scraps isset for the operation of the disclosed methods. Measuring the weight ofthe food scraps in operation 414 provides a way to determine whether anyupper or lower limits on the amount (e.g., weight) of the food have beenreached.

Operation 412 may also be followed by operation 416, “Determining a FoodCategory.” In one embodiment, the category of the food scraps may be aconceptualization of shared characteristics of the food scraps, such asthe origin of the food scraps or the primary chemical composition of thefood scraps. In one embodiment, the food category can be dynamicallyprovisioned such that the category information may be based on aparticular user, premises, time of day, or based on an initial set ofuser responses. For example, system interface can generate a number ofhierarchical based displays that collect more detailed food categoryinformation based an initial set of category selections by the user. Inone embodiment, the food category of the food scraps can be dynamicallydetermined based on real-time analysis of the food scraps when the foodscraps are received. For example, the category of the food scraps may bebased on analysis of electromagnetic data (e.g., light absorbance orreflectance and color differences such as wavelength shifts), smelldata, temperature data, etc.

In another embodiment, the determination of the food category of thefood scraps may be based on selection of the category from a static listof available categories. For example, when the food scraps are receivedfrom a grocery store, the food categories may be based on theoriginating location (e.g., food department) of the food scraps in thegrocery store, such as the meat department or the delicatessen. In onenon-limiting example, the food categories can be selected from meat andseafood, delicatessen, grocery, prepared foods, produce, juice andcoffee bar, floral, and bakery.

Determination of the food category can be based on the chemicalcomposition of the food scraps. For example, starch-based foods may beconsidered a food category or protein-based foods may be considered afood category. In one embodiment, the food scraps received by method 410may always be of a certain category (for example, if the system islocated at a dairy farm and milk is the only food category), so the foodcategory of the food scraps may be fixed in method 410 according to thecategory of food always received.

Operation 414 and/or 416 may be followed by operation 418, “Determiningthe Water Amount.” Based on the weight of the food scraps and the foodcategory, as a reflection of the biochemical nature of the foods in thecategory, the water amount needed for comminution of the food scrapsreceived may be determined in operation 418. Instead of using a fixedquantity of water for all food weights and categories, the relativeamount of water mixed with the food scraps can be selected to produceconsistent characteristics of the slurry (e.g., particle size and slurryconsistency) following comminution, regardless of the food category orfood weight. Using a variable amount of water based on the food categoryand weight can also conserve water, in contrast to using a fixed amountof water for comminution, which may oversupply the water for certainfood categories or quantities of food scraps.

Operation 418 may be followed by operation 420, “Determining ComminutionDuration.” In some embodiments, operations 418 and 420 may be performedconcurrently. In some embodiments, operation 420 may be performed priorto operation 418. The average duration for comminuting the food scrapsmay vary, and can be based on the weight of the food scraps and the foodcategory. Establishing the comminution duration needed for theparticular food weight and category can be advantageous for comminutingthe food scraps to the desired particle size. Using a fixed comminutionduration for any and all food weights and categories could leave somefood scraps under comminuted and produce larger than desirable foodparticles, thus not allowing all biochemical nutrients to be extractedfrom the food scraps. Furthermore, using a variable comminution durationbased on food weight and category can conserve energy because thecomminution device would not be operating longer than necessary. This isin contrast to using a fixed comminution duration, which may require thecomminution device to be operated for an excessive duration in anattempt to fully comminute the food scraps.

In some embodiments, the average duration for comminuting the foodscraps can be in the range of about 30 seconds to about 180 seconds. Forexample, the average time period for comminuting the food scraps can beabout 30 seconds, about 40 seconds, about 50 seconds, about 60 seconds,about 70 seconds, about 80 seconds, about 90 seconds, about 100 seconds,about 110 seconds, about 120 seconds, about 160 seconds, or any rangeincluding any two of these values.

Some embodiments disclosed herein include a system configured to performone or more methods or operations disclosed. FIGS. 5A-5D are blockdiagrams illustrating examples of a system for extracting thebiochemical nutrients from organic material, such as food scraps, andstabilizing and/or anabolizing the extracted biochemical nutrients. FIG.5E is a schematic diagram of a system for extracting the biochemicalnutrients from food scraps and stabilizing and/or anabolizing theextracted biochemical nutrients. The systems shown in FIGS. 5A-5Econtain multiple components for conducting the operations and methodsdescribed above and it will be appreciated by one of skill in the artthat the components are not limited to the arrangements shown in thefigures, but can be arranged in alternative arrangements to accomplishthe operations and methods disclosed.

FIG. 5A is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system forextracting the biochemical nutrients from organic material andstabilizing and/or anabolizing the biochemical nutrients. The system 510may include such components as a control system 536, a liquid source528, a flow control device 531, a comminution device 520, a flow controldevice 532, a biological tank 514, an aeration system 537, and one ormore sensors.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the control system 536 may be in communication withthe components of system 510. As used herein, “in communication” caninclude any configuration that permits one- or two-directional exchangeof signals (e.g., data, instructions, etc.) between two components. Twocomponents may exchange signals, for example, via a wired connection,wirelessly, or through access to shared memory (e.g., flash memory). Theexchange may occur through an intermediate device, such as a separatecontroller.

In some embodiments, the control system 536 may be coupled to acommunication device (not shown) for communicating with a remote systemor user. The communication device is not particularly limited and canbe, for example, a narrow (data) or wide band (video) cellular modem, aland-line modem, a wifi device, and ethernet modem, and the like.Control system 536 may send data for system 510 via the communicationdevice to a remote site or user. For example, the control system 536 maysend error reports when one or more operating conditions are outsideacceptable thresholds. In some embodiments, a user can remotelyconfigure or control system 510 by sending signals to control system 536via the communication device.

While the control system 536 is depicted in FIG. 5A as implemented by asingle computing device, this is illustrative only. The control system536 may be embodied in a plurality of linked computing devices. A serveror other computing device implementing the control system 536 mayinclude memory, processing unit(s), and computer readable mediumdrive(s), all of which may communicate with one another by way of acommunication bus. The processing unit(s) may communicate to and frommemory containing program instructions that the processing unit(s)executes in order to operate the control system 536. The memorygenerally includes RAM, ROM, and/or other persistent and auxiliarymemory.

The control system 536 can include an external data source interfacecomponent for obtaining external information from network data sources,such as location data, contact data, inventory data, and other data. Thecontrol system 536 can also include a device interface component forobtaining information from one or more system interfaces 524. Oneskilled in the relevant art will also appreciate that the control system536 may include any one of a number of additional hardware and softwarecomponents that would be utilized in the illustrative computerizednetwork environment to carry out the illustrative functions of thecontrol system 536 or any of the individually identified components. Thecontrol system 536 may also include one or more input devices (keyboard,keypads, mouse device, specialized selection keys, multi-media capturedevices, barcode readers, RFID receivers, etc.) and one or more outputdevices (displays, printers, audio output mechanisms, etc.).

The comminution device 520 may receive organic material and maycomminute the organic material into a slurry. The comminution device 520may be in communication with control system 536. The control system 536may, for example, receive signals from comminution device 520 indicatingwhen the organic material has been received. The control system 536 maysend signals to the comminution device instructing the comminutiondevice 520 to operate. The operation instructions from the controlsystem 536 to the comminution device 520 may include a duration for howlong the comminution device 520 should operation. The control system 536may receive signals from the comminution device 520 indicating when theorganic material has been comminuted.

The control system 536 may provide liquids from the liquid source 528(e.g., a municipal water line or water tank) to the comminution device520, to which the liquid source 528 may be fluidly coupled. The flowcontrol device 531 may be in communication with the control system 536to adjust the amount of water added when forming the slurry. As usedherein, a “flow control device” can include a pump or valve andoptionally other components (e.g., volumetric sensors and weighingdevices) that, when in communication with a control system, can controlthe quantity of material transferred between two components. Thus, insome embodiments, the control system 536 may be configured to form aslurry according to any of the methods described above (e.g., controlthe slurry composition as described for operation 216 in FIG. 2). Theliquid source 528 may include a temperature sensor 547 which may be incommunication with the control system 536 to regulate the temperature ofliquid supplied to the comminution system 520.

The flow control device 532 may be in communication with the controlsystem 536 and may be located downstream of the comminution device 520.The flow control device 532 may be configured to adjust a flow oforganic components, such as the slurry, from the comminution device 520to the biological tank 514. For example, control system 536 may signalflow control device 532 to provide organic material to the biologicaltank 514 when the comminution device 520 has stopped operation.

The biological tank 514 may contain a yeast in solution. The biologicaltank 514 may receive a slurry, such as, for example, the slurry producedin the comminution device 520. The slurry and the yeast may form amixture in the biological tank 514. The biological tank 514 may includean aeration system 537. The aeration system 537 may be in comminutionwith the control system 536 to supply an amount of oxygen to the mixturein the biological tank 514. The yeast can stabilize or anabolize thebiochemical nutrients in the mixture in the biological tank 514 underaerobic conditions (e.g., as described above with relation to operations318 and 320 in FIG. 3).

The biological tank 514 may also include various components for sensingvarious conditions of the mixture. The level sensor 542, oxygen sensor544, temperature sensor 546, and pH sensor 548, are configured to sensevarious characteristics of the biological tank 514. Each of thesesensors may be in communication with control system 536, which canreceive data regarding the mixture and make appropriate adjustments tothe process. For example, if level sensor 542 indicates the biologicaltank 514 is full, the control system 536 may stop providing slurry tothe biological tank 514 using the flow control device 532. As anotherexample, the control system 536 may receive temperature conditions fromtemperature sensor 546. As another example, the control system 536 maybe in communication with the pH sensor 548. As another example, thecontrol system 536 may be in communication with the oxygen sensor 544and can adjust the operation of the aeration system 537 to provide moreor less aeration of the mixture in the biological tank 514 as required.Thus, in some embodiments, the control system 536 may be configured toaerate the mixture according to any of the methods described above(e.g., control the oxygen content of the mixture as described foroperation 316 in FIG. 3).

FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system forextracting the biochemical nutrients from organic material andstabilizing or anabolizing the biochemical nutrients. Shown in FIG. 5Bis the system 510 having the same components as system 510 of FIG. 5Aand further including a sensory input device 526, a system interface524, a weighing device 534, and a processing tank 530, all of which arein communication with the control system 536.

The weighing device 534 may be configured to receive the amount oforganic material provided to the system for processing. The weighingdevice 534 may also be configured to weigh components of the system 510before and after the organic material is received. The control system536 may determine an appropriate amount of liquid to combine withorganic material based, in part, on data received from the weighingdevice 534 (e.g., as described above with respect to operation 418 inFIG. 4). The control system may also determine an appropriatecomminution duration for the organic material based, in part, on datareceived from weighing device 534 (e.g., as described above with respectto operation 420 in FIG. 4).

The system interface 524 shown in FIG. 5B may receive input data from auser of the system and transmit such data to the control system 536. Thesystem interface 524 can include various input and output devices forgenerating information, prompting a user for information, obtaining userinputted information and initiating the processing of received organicmaterial. One of skill in the art will appreciate, however, thatadditional or alternative displays may be implemented in accordance withthe present disclosure. Likewise, the system interface 524 may receivedata from the control system 524 related to any function of the system510 and display the data or related information on the system interface524. All data received by the control system 536 from the systemcomponents may be transmitted to the system interface 524 for display.Control system 536 may also be configured to receive information fromoutside the system 510 illustrated by FIG. 5B. It should appreciatedthat a user can send information to the control system 536, includingsuch information as weight, category, or type of organic material, andthe like, prior to arrival of the material at the system 510.

The control system 536 may determine an appropriate amount of liquid tocombine with organic material based, in part, on data received from thesystem interface 524 (e.g., as described above with respect to operation418 in FIG. 4). The control system 536 may also determine an appropriatecomminution duration for the organic material based, in part, on datareceived from the system interface 524 (e.g., as described above withrespect to operation 420 in FIG. 4). In one embodiment, the systeminterface 524 may receive data from a user regarding the category of theorganic material received in the system 510.

The sensory input device 526 shown in FIG. 5B may receive environmentalinput data and transmit such data to the control system 536. Theenvironmental input data can be stored as data by or in the controlsystem 536. The sensory input device 526 may receive, for example, thewavelength of electromagnetic radiation emitted from the organicmaterial. In another example, the sensory input device 526 may receivelight data, color data, sound data, temperature data, smell data orother characteristic data of the organic material.

The control system 536 may determine an appropriate amount of liquid tocombine with organic material based, in part, on data received from thesensory input device 526 (e.g., as described above with respect tooperation 418 in FIG. 4). The control system 536 may also determine anappropriate comminution duration for the organic material based, inpart, on data received from the sensory input device 526 (e.g., asdescribed above with respect to operation 420 in FIG. 4). In oneembodiment, the sensory input device 526 may receive data regarding thecategory of the organic material received in the system 510.

System 510 may further include a processing tank 530, such as, forexample, a hydrolytic tank. The processing tank 530 may be fluidlycoupled with the comminution device 520 and may receive the slurry afterthe organic material is comminuted for further processing of the slurryprior to delivery of the slurry to the biological tank 514. Theprocessing tank 530 may be fluidly coupled to the biological tank 514.The control system 536 may provide instructions to provide hydrolyticenzymes to the processing tank 530 (e.g., as described above withrespect to operation 218 in FIG. 2). The control system 536 may provideinstructions to heat the processing tank 530 to pasteurize the slurry(e.g., as described above with respect to operation 220 in FIG. 2). Theflow control device 532 may be in communication with the control system536 and configured to adjust a flow of the slurry from the processingtank 530 to the biological tank 514. The processing tank 530 may includea temperature sensor 545 which may be in communication with the controlsystem 536 to regulate the temperature of the processing tank 530.

FIG. 5C is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system forextracting the biochemical nutrients from organic material andstabilizing or anabolizing the biochemical nutrients. Shown in FIG. 5Cis system 510 having the same components as system 510 and furtherincluding a receiving unit 516, a preparation unit 512, and a flowcontrol device 521 in communication with the control system 536.

The receiving unit 516 can be, for example, a hopper, a chute, acontainer, or the like. The receiving unit 516 may be configured toreceive the organic material and may be fluidly coupled to thecomminution device 520. When organic material is received in thereceiving unit 516, it can be passed through to the comminution device520 for comminution and extraction of the biochemical nutrients. In oneembodiment, the receiving unit 516 may comprise the sensory input device526 or the system interface 524. In one embodiment, the receiving unit516 may be fluidly coupled with the liquid source 528. The controlsystem 536 may supply an amount of water to the receiving unit 516 toassist in comminution of the organic material, to clean the receivingunit 516, etc. The temperature sensor 547 which may be in communicationwith the control system 536 to regulate the temperature of liquidsupplied to the receiving unit 516. The flow control device 521 may bein communication with the control system 536 to adjust the amount ofwater supplied to the receiving unit 516. Furthermore, the controlsystem 536 may provide signals to flow control devices 521 and 531 tovariably allocate the amount of water supplied to the receiving unit 516and the comminution device 520 based on data received by the controlsystem 536 from other components of the system, such as the weighingdevice 534, the sensory input device 526, the comminution device 520, orany combination thereof.

The preparation unit 512 may be an assembly or aggregation of one ormore components of the systems described herein. In one embodiment, thepreparation unit 512 may be a structure with a closed interior portionconfigured to house one or more components of the systems describedherein. In one embodiment, the preparation unit 512 may house anycombination of the receiving unit 516, the liquid source 528, thecomminution device 520, the weighing device 534, the processing tank530, and one or more flow control devices. In one embodiment, thepreparation unit 512 may house the control system 536.

FIG. 5D is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system forextracting the biochemical nutrients from organic material andstabilizing and/or anabolizing the biochemical nutrients. As shown inFIG. 5D, the preparation unit 512 may be located in an edifice 560(e.g., a grocery store, warehouse, residence, etc.) and the biologicaltank 514 may be located outside the edifice 560. In this manner, theorganic material may be received by the system 510 while in the edifice560 and the biochemical nutrients may be extracted while in the edifice560, but the biochemical nutrients may be stabilized and/or anabolizedoutside the edifice 560. It will be readily appreciated by one of skillin the art that various components of the preparation unit 512 may beremoved from the preparation unit 512 and moved out of the edifice 560.For example, in one embodiment, the components of the system 510 may bearranged such that the organic material may be received in the edifice560, but the biochemical nutrients may be extracted and stabilizedand/or anabolized outside the edifice 560.

FIG. 5E is a schematic diagram illustrating one example of system forextracting biochemical nutrients from organic material, particularlyfood scraps, and anabolizing and/or stabilizing the biochemicalnutrients, as depicted in FIG. 1. The system 510 may include apreparation unit 512 where the biochemical nutrients can be extractedfrom the food scraps. The system 510 can also include a biological tank514 where the extracted biochemical nutrients can be stabilized oranabolized. The preparation unit 512 can include several components,including a receiving unit (e.g., a hopper) 516, a comminution device520, a pump 532, a water tank 528, a control system 536, a systeminterface 524, and one or more weighing devices 534 and conveyingdevices (not shown) that serve to deliver food scraps at a constant rateto the comminution device 520. Shown in FIG. 5E is an optionalhydrolytic tank 530 that may be included in the preparation unit 512 tohydrolyze and pasteurize the slurry prior to anabolization andstabilization, as discussed above. The hopper 516 can include severalcomponents, such as an inlet 518, an outlet 519, a spray nozzle 522, anda camera 526. The preparation unit 512 may be used, for example, toperform operation 114 in system 110 of FIG. 1, and all or part of theoperations depicted in system 210 of FIG. 2, for extracting biochemicalnutrients from the food scraps. The preparation unit 512 may also beused, for example, to perform all or part of the operations depicted insystem 410 of FIG. 4 for determining the water quantity for comminutionand the comminution duration.

The control system 536 can be in communication with the components andany subcomponents of the preparation unit 512 and the biological tank514. In one embodiment of system 510, such as is shown in FIG. 5E, thecontrol system 536 may be a component of the preparation unit 512. Inanother embodiment, the control system 536 may be located external tothe preparation unit 512, but remain in communication with thepreparation unit 512, the biological tank 514, and the components andsubcomponents of each.

The biological tank 514 can include a number of components, including anaeration system. In one embodiment, such as is depicted in FIG. 5E, theaeration system can be comprised of a regenerative blower 538 incommunication with a bubbler 540. Other aeration systems arecontemplated within the scope of the disclosure provided herein, suchas, for example, venturi pump connected to the bubbler 540. Thebiological tank 514 can further include a top port 554, a first drainageport 556, a second drainage port 558 and a number of sensors, such as alevel sensor 542, a pH sensor 544, a temperature sensor 546, and adissolved oxygen sensor 548. As shown in FIG. 5E, the biological tankmay be connected to a charcoal tank 550. The biological tank 514 may beused, for example, to perform operations 116 and 118 in system 110depicted in FIG. 1, and all or part of the operations depicted in system310 of FIG. 3, for anabolizing and stabilizing the biochemical nutrientsin the slurry.

In one embodiment of the system 510 shown in FIG. 5E, the hopper 112receives a quantity of food scraps. The hopper 516 may be used, forexample, to perform all or part of operations 112, 212, and 412 depictedin FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, respectively. As discussed above, the food scrapscan originate at any location along the food supply chain. For example,the food scraps can be the unwanted or left over food scraps or otherorganic material (e.g., flowers, house plants, etc.) collected in agrocery store or in a residence. A user of the system 510 may depositthe food scraps into the hopper 516 through the inlet 518.

The system 510 can include a system interface 524 in communication withthe control system 536. In one embodiment, the system interface 524 is acomponent of the preparation unit 512.

Using the system interface 524, the user may provide to the controlsystem 536, the category of food scraps being deposited into the hopper516. For example, the user may select from a number of predefined foodcategories shown on the system interface 524 in order to indicate thecategory of food scraps being deposited into the hopper 112.Alternatively, in one embodiment, the system 510 may determine the foodcategory deposited into the hopper 516 with little or no userinvolvement. For example, the camera 526 can be a multi-spectral cameracapable of determining the food type based on, for example, thewavelength of electromagnetic radiation emitted from the food scraps. Inanother example, the preparation unit 512 can include additionalsensors, such as light sensors, color sensors, sound sensors,temperature sensors, smell sensors, etc. that collect information aboutcharacteristics of the deposited food scraps. The food category can bestored as data by or in the control system 536.

The control system 536 may determine an appropriate amount of water tocombine with the food scraps based, in part, on data received from theweighing device 534 and the system interface 524 or camera 526 (e.g., asdescribed above with respect to method 410 in FIG. 4). Thus, the systeminterface 524 and control system 536 may be used, for example, toperform all or part of operation 416 depicted in FIG. 4. Likewise, thecamera 526 and control system 536 can be used, for example, to performall or part of operation 416 depicted in FIG. 4. In turn, the controlsystem 536 may communicate with the water tank 528, thus providinginstructions to the water tank 528 to supply the appropriate amount ofwater to the comminution device 520 and hopper 516.

With the food scraps having been received in the hopper 516, the foodscraps can be weighed. The weighing device 534 can be in communicationwith the control system 536. In one embodiment, the weighing device 534can weigh the food scraps directly and communicate the weight of thefood scraps directly to the control system 536. The weighing device 534may be used, for example, to perform all or part of operation 414depicted in FIG. 4.

In one embodiment, the weighing device 534 is comprised of one or moreload cells. In this embodiment, the weight of the received food scrapscan be determined by the use of one or more load cells, as part of thepreparation unit 512. The load cells can determine the tare weight ofthe preparation unit 512 before any food scraps have been received inthe hopper 516. Following receipt of the food scraps in the hopper 516,the load cells are able to measure the gross weight of the preparationunit 512 and the food scraps. The control system 536, in communicationwith the load cells, can determine the net weight of the food scrapsadded to the hopper 516 based on the difference between the gross weightof the preparation unit 512 and food scraps and the tare weight of thepreparation unit 512. Thus, the load cells and control system 536 may beused, for example, to perform all or part of operation 414 depicted inFIG. 4. In one non-limiting embodiment, with the assistance of logic inthe control system 536, excess net weight in the comminution device 520following the completion of a cycle could be detected and a newcomminution cycle started and timed based on the residual, unprocessedfood scraps. Similarly, the combination of load cell and optical datacould detect the presence of unwanted, non-processable or contaminant(where a contaminant is a non-recyclable/non-recoverable object such asa stone) material in the hopper or comminution device 520. In anotherembodiment, the weighing device 534 may be a scale positioned externallyto the preparation unit 512 and in communication (wired or wirelessly)with the control system 536.

As shown in FIG. 5E, the hopper 516 can be coupled to a comminutiondevice 520. For example, the hopper 516 may include an outlet 519 thatcouples to the comminution device 520. In one embodiment, the outlet 519is through a bottom portion of the hopper 516 and provides a passage tothe comminution device 520. In this embodiment, the food scraps receivedby the hopper 516 can pass through the hopper outlet 519 to enter thecomminution device 520. In another embodiment, the hopper may be fluidlycoupled to the comminution device via one or more conduits (not shown).The comminution device 520 can be, for example, a grinder, homogenizer,crusher, a mill, rotating blade(s), and the like, so long as the deviceresults in the desired size, shear forces and other characteristics.

The comminution device 520 and the hopper 516 can be fluidly coupled tothe water tank 528. As used herein, “fluidly coupled” can include anyconnection through one or more conduits than allows the exchange ofmaterial between two components. Two components may be fluidly coupledwhen one or more intermediate components receive or process a fluid thatis transferred between the two components. The water tank 528 can be,for example, a hot water heater. The water tank 528 may be a waterheater capable of providing hot water to the hopper 516 and comminutiondevice 520 to assist in the grinding of the food scraps. In one example,the temperature of the water supplied from the water tank 528 to thehopper 516 and comminution device 520 can be between ambient temperatureand approximately 140° F. The water tank 528 can be fluidly coupled toan external water supply through conduit 570. In another embodiment, thewater tank 528 can be absent from the system 510 and the water can besupplied directly to the comminution device 520 and the hopper 516 fromthe external water supply (such as a municipal water source or externalwater tank).

The water tank 528 can supply water or other fluid to the comminutiondevice 520 and hopper 516 to assist in and enhance the comminution ofthe food scraps. In one embodiment, the water tank 528 is fluidlycoupled through conduit 572 to the spray nozzle 522, such that the spraynozzle 522 sprays the water into the hopper 516. As used herein,“conduit” can include a pipe or tube or other means to fluidly connectthe respective components. The spray nozzle 522 may be located in aninterior region of the hopper 516, for example, above the hopper outlet519. As the hopper outlet 519 may be coupled with the comminution device520, approximately all the water supplied to the hopper 516 through thespray nozzle 522 can flow down to the comminution device 520. In oneembodiment, the water tank 528 is fluidly coupled to the comminutiondevice 520 through a conduit 574. After the amount of water required forcomminution has been determined based on, for example, the weight of thefood scraps and the food category, the correct water quantity can besupplied to the spray nozzle 522 and comminution device 520. Thedetermined amount of water needed for successful comminution can bevariably distributed between the spray nozzle 522 and the comminutiondevice 520 (from 16% of the water flow to 100%). Water supplied to eachsite can be either at ambient or heated between 140° F. and 180° F.Furthermore, the determined amount of water needed for comminution canbe variably distributed to the spray nozzle 522 and the comminutiondevice 520 at different times. For example an amount of water may besupplied to the nozzle 522 and the comminution device before comminutioncommences, an amount of water may be supplied during comminution, and anamount of water may be supplied after comminution. In one embodiment, anamount of water may be sprayed through the nozzle 522 after thecomminution device has finished running in order to clear any remainingfood particles from the hopper 516.

The comminution device 520 may be operated for a specific period of timein order to form a slurry containing biochemical nutrients extractedfrom the food scraps and generate food particulates of a desired size inthe slurry. The comminution device 520 may be used, for example, toperform all or part of operation 216 depicted in FIG. 2. As discussedabove, the comminution duration needed for the desired particulate sizein the comminution device 520 can be a function of the food category ofthe food scraps and/or the weight of the food scraps added to the hopper516. The food category and weight of the food scraps can be stored asdata in the control system 536 and the control system 536 can determinethe appropriate duration of comminution for the comminution device 536.In turn, the control system 536 may communicate with the comminutiondevice 520, thus providing instructions to the comminution device 520 tooperate for the determined duration. In one embodiment such controlallows the comminution device 520 to be used to move the food scrapslurry to fluidly connected pump 532.

The food scraps can be sufficiently comminuted to expose the surfacearea of the food particles by the shear force of the comminution device520 in order to shear or lyse all or nearly all available cells in foodparticles. The slurry produced in the comminution device 520 can bepumped via the pump 532 to the biological tank 514 via conduit 578. Thepump 532 can be, for example, a reciprocating pump, a rotary pump, acentrifugal pump, a lobe pump, or the like. In one embodiment, the pump532 can be fluidly coupled to the comminution device 520 through conduit576. In one embodiment, the pump 532 can be directly coupled to thecomminution device 520.

In one alternative embodiment, the slurry may first pass through conduit582 to the hydrolytic tank 530 prior to being pumped to the biologicaltank 514. In the hydrolytic tank 530, the slurry can undergo hydrolysisand/or pasteurization. The hydrolytic tank 530 can be fluidly coupled toan internal or external tank though conduit 580 to receive a solution ofhydrolytic enzymes needed for hydrolysis. In the hydrolytic tank 530,the slurry can be mixed with hydrolytic enzymes to assist in hydrolysisof the extracted biological nutrients. In the hydrolytic tank 530, theslurry can also be subject to heating sufficient to pasteurize theslurry. The hydrolytic tank 530 can be used, for example, to perform allor part of operations 218 and 220 depicted in FIG. 2. Followinghydrolysis and/or pasteurization in the hydrolytic tank 530, the slurrycan be removed from the hydrolytic tank 530 through conduit 584 andpassed through the pump 532 to pump the slurry into the biological tank514 via conduit 578.

The biological tank 514 can receive the slurry prepared in thepreparation unit 512. The biological tank 514 can be used, for example,to perform all or part of operation 312 depicted in FIG. 3. In analternative embodiment, a slurry may be received from some other processor system and provided to the biological tank 514. The biological tank514 may contain a yeast in solution under aerobic conditions. In oneembodiment, the yeast is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The biological tank104 can be equipped with an aeration system 126 to provide oxygen to thebiological tank 104 in order to aerate the mixture of the slurry and theyeast. The aeration system of the biological tank may also act to mixthe slurry with the yeast. Thus, biological tank and the aeration systemtogether can be used to perform all or part of operations 314 and 316.In another embodiment, a mechanical mixer (not shown) may be used to mixthe mixture of the slurry and the yeast. In one embodiment, thebiological tank 514 can be, for example, an industrial food grade tank.The capacity of the biological tank can be chosen based on the volume ofthe slurry being received in the biological tank 514 and the frequencyof the drainage and pick up of the slurry/yeast mixture for furtherprocessing. In one embodiment, the biological tank 514 can be afood-safe epoxy-coated mild steel tank with a capacity of 1000-4000gallons. In one non-limiting example, the biological tank can have acapacity of 3500 gallons, with a working capacity of 3000 gallons.

In one embodiment, such as is shown in FIG. 5E, the aeration system maybe comprised of a regenerative blower 538 fluidly coupled to a bubbler540. The blower 538 may be located within the roof of the biologicaltank 514. The blower 538 may draw in ambient air from the atmosphere andforce the air down through the bubbler 540 and into the slurry in thetank 514. In one embodiment, the bubbler 540 comprises a tube or pipepassing down through the slurry in the tank 514, having one or moreholes or openings in bottom of the tube, located preferably near thebottom of the biological tank 514. Air received into the bubbler 540 maybe forced out of the opening in the tube into the slurry. The air forcedout of the bubbler may then rise, or bubble, through the slurry, therebyaerating the mixture of the slurry and the yeast. In one embodiment, theaeration system may be comprised of a venturi pump or a toring turbinelocated on the top of the biological tank 514 and attached to thebubbler 540 passing through the slurry. Aeration can be performed atambient temperature and pressure in the biological tank 514.

The aeration system may be configured to aerate the slurry/yeast mixturein such a manner that the mixture is maintained in a quiescent state inthe biological tank 514. In this manner, the aeration system mayadvantageously provide sufficient oxygen to the biological tank 514 toaerate the mixture and maintain the yeast in an aerobic environment, butnot so much oxygen to feed any bacteria remaining in the slurry.Excessive aeration in the biological tank 514 may feed the bacteria(with a faster turnover rate) in the tank as well as the yeast (with aslower turnover rate) in the tank 514, causing the bacteria to overwhelmthe yeast. Thus, excessive aeration may lead to foaming in thebiological tank 514 as the bacteria respire in the biological tank 514.In one embodiment, the biological tank 514 may be maintained in aquiescent state by maintaining an oxygen content in the mixture of lessthan approximately 8 ppm, for example between approximately 0.5 ppm andapproximately 8 ppm. In one embodiment, the oxygen content may bemaintained at approximately 1-3 ppm to maintain the quiescent state ofthe mixture in the biological tank 514.

The biological tank 514 may be equipped with one or more sensors, suchas a level sensor 542, a pH sensor 544, a temperature sensor 546, and anoxygen sensor 548. Such sensors may be in communication with the controlsystem 536. The level sensor 542 may monitor the fluid level 552 in thebiological tank 514 and provide feedback to the control system 536. ThepH sensor 544 may monitor the pH of the mixture in the biological tank514 and provide feedback to the control system 536. The temperaturesensor 546 may monitor the temperature in the mixture in the biologicaltank 514 and provide feedback to the control system 536. The oxygensensor 548 may monitor the oxygen content in the biological tank 514 andprovide feedback to the control system 536. Based on the feedbackreceived from the sensors, the control system 536 may provideinstructions to components of the system 510. For example, in oneembodiment the control system 536 may provide instructions to theaeration system to increase or decrease the aeration provided to themixture in the biological tank 514 based on feedback (e.g., data)received from the oxygen sensor 548.

The biological tank 514 may also be equipped with one or more waterrecycling devices such as dewatering filters. Such reclaimed water fromthe biological tank 514 could then be fluidly coupled in a closed loopto the comminution device 520. Such recycling devices would result inreducing the amount of new water required by the comminution device 520and under the system control 536 would allow optimal utilization of newand reclaimed water.

The biological tank 514 may be equipped with one or more drainage ports,such as a first drainage port 556 and a second drainage port 558. Thedrainage ports 556, 558 may allow the biological tank 514 to be drainedand the slurry/yeast mixture to be removed from the biological tank 514for further processing into, for example, plant fertilizer or othervaluable agricultural products. The first drainage port 556 is locatedabove the second drainage port 558 such that if the mixture is removedfrom the first drainage port 556 a quantity of the mixture may remain inthe biological tank 514. Leaving a quantity of the mixture in thebiological tank 514 following drainage of the biological tank 514 canprepare the biological tank 514 for the next receipt of additionalslurry into the biological tank 514. The biological tank 514 may also beequipped with a top port 554. The top port 554 may be used to supplyadditional yeast to the biological tank 514 as needed.

The charcoal tank 550 can be fluidly coupled to the biological tank 514through conduit 586. In one embodiment, the charcoal tank 550 may beequipped with activated charcoal granules and may be plumbed as the onlyair escape for the biological tank 514. The charcoal tank 550 canprovide odor control to the biological tank 514.

As described above, the system 510 in certain embodiments may receiveinput data from the user or the system 510 may generate input data orinformation to further instruct processes conducted within the system510. For example, as described above, the user of the system 510 maysupply input data, or the system 510 may generate data, used by thecontrol system 536 for determining, for example, the comminutionduration of the comminution device 520 and/or the appropriate amount ofwater to combine with the organic material used in forming the slurry.

Furthermore, as described above, control system 536 may also beconfigured to receive information from outside the system 510. A usermay send information to the control system 536, including suchinformation as weight, category or type of organic material, uniqueidentifying and tracking numbers such as SKUs, and the like, prior toarrival of the organic material at the system 510. In certainembodiments, such input data may be transmitted remotely to the controlsystem 536 before the organic material is received by the system 510. Anexternal device or apparatus may determine the information and transmitthe data to the control system 536 of the system 510.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate embodiments of a delivery apparatus 610 fordelivery of organic material, analysis of organic material, andtransmission of data associated with the organic material. The apparatusshown in FIGS. 6A-6C contain multiple components for conducting theoperations and methods described herein and it will be appreciated byone of skill in the art that the components are not limited to thearrangements shown in the figures, but can be arranged in alternativearrangements to accomplish the operations and methods disclosed.

A delivery apparatus 610 may be used to collect organic material fromthe premises and deliver it to the system 510 for processing, such asextracting the biochemical nutrients from the organic material, and thenanabolizing and stabilizing the extracted the biochemical nutrients. Thedelivery apparatus 610 may generate and collect data associated with theorganic material, such as a category or type of organic material and theweight of the organic material. The delivery apparatus 610 may thendeliver or transmit the collected data to the system 510, prior thedelivery of the organic material to the system 510. For example, in oneembodiment the delivery apparatus 610 may be used in a grocery store tocollect food scraps. The delivery apparatus 610 may determine thecategory or type of food scraps added to the delivery apparatus 610, aswell as the weight of the added to the delivery apparatus. The categoryand weight of the food scraps may be transmitted from the deliveryapparatus 610 to the system 510, along with an identifier for thedelivery apparatus 610 (or a bucket or container thereon). Thus, whenthe delivery apparatus 610 is taken to the system 510, the system 510may receive as input the identifier from the delivery apparatus that wasalready sent to the system 510. Thus, the system 510 will be aware ofthe category and weight of the food scraps being deposited into thesystem 510 associated with this particular delivery apparatus 610. Inthis manner, the system 510 will already be set up with the correct datafor comminution duration and water content needed for the food scrapswhen the food scraps are deposited into the system 510.

The delivery apparatus 610 illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C may include a cart612, having a platform 616. The platform 616 may be designed to carry abucket or other container 614 positioned on the platform 616. The cartalso may include a back panel 618. Securement arms 620 may extend from aportion of the back panel 618 to secure the bucket 614 on the platform616. The platform 616 may be outfitted with a weighing device (such as,for example, a scale or load cells) to determine the weight of thebucket 614, along with any contents in the bucket 614. A tare weight ofthe empty bucket 614 may be established and recorded by the deliveryapparatus 610 and the weighing device on the platform 616 may thendetermine the net weight of the contents put into the bucket 614.

The bucket 614 may be associated with a unique identifier such that anydata generated and collected in relation to the contents of the bucket614 may be associated with the unique identifier. In this manner, theunique identifier will allow the correct data to be associated with theorganic material when the organic material is delivered to the system510 for processing. The size of the bucket 614 may be a function of thepremises in which the delivery apparatus is used and may morespecifically be a function of the particular location in the premises.For example, in a grocery store, a 55 gallon bucket 614 may beappropriate for certain departments such as produce, deli, bakery, etc.Smaller or larger capacity buckets 614 may be used for variousdepartments.

As shown in FIGS. 6A-6C, the back panel 618 of the cart 612 may includea control panel 630. The control panel 630 may include, for example,controls for operating various functions of the delivery apparatus 610and may provide for display of data or information that is generated,transmitted, or received by the delivery apparatus 610. In certainembodiments, the delivery apparatus may contain a display screen 634that may be touch-enabled to receive input from a user of the deliveryapparatus 610. The control panel 630 may include a battery chargeindicator 632 to indicate the status of the battery (not shown) that mayprovide power to the delivery apparatus 610. Also on the control panel630, an on/off switch 636 may be used to turn the delivery apparatus onand off; the on/off switch 636 may be keyed to allow for a securement ofthe delivery apparatus 610 and prevent unintended uses within theconfines of the premises.

The delivery apparatus 610 may also include a handle 622 by which theuser of the apparatus 610 may direct the delivery apparatus 610. Underthe platform 616, the cart 612 may include wheels 613, such as castorwheels, for maneuvering the delivery apparatus 610 through the premises.

Extending from the back panel 618 of the cart 612, one or more extensionposts 624 may hold a sensor suite 626. The extension posts 624 may holdthe sensor suite 626 over the bucket 614, such that the sensoryapparatus in the sensor suite 626 may be in optical communication withthe interior (and hence, the contents of) the bucket 614. The sensorsuite 626 may be adjustable on the extension posts 624 to move up anddown, rotate around, adjust laterally, or swivel.

The sensor suite 626 may include a touch screen display 628 to provideinput to the sensor suite 626 and display information related to thesensor suite 626. The sensor suite 626 may include sensory apparatus toidentify the contents of the organic material in the bucket 614, orotherwise obtain information related to the organic material placed inthe bucket 614. The sensor suite may also identify the bucket 614 itself(by reading the unique identifier) and may identify information aboutthe user of the delivery apparatus 610. The sensor suite 626 mayinclude, for example, a barcode reader, an RFID reader, IR sensor,camera, and other optical sensors. The sensor suite 626 may receive, forexample, the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation emitted from theorganic material in the bucket 614. In another example, the sensoryinput device 626 may receive light data, color data, sound data,temperature data, smell data or other characteristic data of the organicmaterial.

The data generated by the sensor suite 626 may be transmitted ordelivered to the control system 536 of the system 510. The data may betransmitted to the system 510 wirelessly through any appropriatewireless communication protocol such as RF, Bluetooth, and/or802.11a/b/g/n, etc. The control system 536 may determine an appropriateamount of liquid to combine with organic material based on data receivedfrom the delivery system 610. The control system 536 may also determinethe appropriate comminution duration for the organic material based ondata received from the delivery system 610.

In one example use, the delivery apparatus 610 may be used to collectfood scraps from a particular department (deli, produce, etc.) of agrocery store. The delivery apparatus 610 may be positioned in theparticular department. The user may cull the expired or otherwiseunusable food from the department and place it in the bucket 614 of thedelivery apparatus 610. Using the control panel 630 (or thetouch-enabled display screen 634), the user may instruct the deliveryapparatus 610 to weigh the food scraps placed in the bucket 614. Usingthe control panel 630 or the sensor suite touch screen 628, the user mayinstruct the delivery apparatus 610 to identify and categorize the foodscraps in the bucket 614 of the delivery apparatus 610. This may be doneusing the sensor suite 626. The user may instruct the delivery apparatusto take a photo of the user and the food scraps in the bucket 614. Theuser may also instruct the delivery apparatus to wirelessly transmit theacquired data associated with the food scraps to the system 510, as wellas an identifier for the delivery apparatus 610 or bucket 614. The usermay eventually move the delivery apparatus 610 to the system 510 forprocessing of the food scraps. The user may input the identifier for thedelivery apparatus 610 or bucket 614 into the system 510 and the system510 will choose the appropriate comminution duration and water amountneeded for optimal processing of the delivered food scraps, based on thedata associated with the unique identifier already received by thesystem 510 from the delivery apparatus 610.

In certain embodiments, the system 510 may be equipped with a reader forreading the unique identifier associated with the delivered food scraps,thus the user would not be required to manually input the uniqueidentifier of the bucket 614 or delivery apparatus 610 into the system510.

In certain embodiments, the system 510 may be outfitted to automaticallyreceive and dump the food scraps into the system 510 for processing. Thesystem 510 may also be outfitted to automatically clean and sterilizethe bucket 614 of the delivery apparatus 610 after it has automaticallydumped the food scraps into the system 510.

The data collected by the delivery apparatus 610 may be tracked andaggregated by the premises. The premises has the ability with thedelivery apparatus 610 to track and tabulate the quantity and type offood scraps being lost to waste. The collection of data allows thepremises to adjust and optimize, for example, the premises conditionsand purchasing decisions, to reduce the quantity of food lost to waste.

The data associated with the collected organic material which iscollected by a given delivery apparatus 610 on a certain occasion may beused alone, or may be used with other aggregated data (from otherlocations in the premises, or other collection times, or otherpremises), to provide beneficial feedback information to the premises.As the delivery apparatus 610 may identify the category or type oforganic material and the amount of organic material being discarded inthe delivery apparatus 610, the user may use such data to optimizeenvironmental and purchasing conditions to reduce the amount of organicmaterial lost to waste. The data from the delivery apparatus 610 may beused to determine, for example, the loss of certain food categories at agrocery store. Over time, the changes in loss of a certain food categorycan be tracked and tabulated.

Such data from the delivery apparatus 610 may be used in conjunctionwith other data collected from the premises, such as the premisesenvironmental data (e.g., the temperature settings in the givendepartment of the grocery store), the day of the week the items aredelivered and stocked, the quantity of product stocked in thedepartment, or the wholesale quantity of the product purchased. The datamay be transmitted to and stored at the system 510 or another centralcontrol system (e.g., computer system) for the premises.

In one non-limiting example, the delivery apparatus 610 may be used tocollect and transmit data related to food waste in a given department,such as the produce department, of a grocery store. The contents andquantity of the food waste from the department may be stored andtabulated by the grocery store. The grocery store may then decide toadjust the environmental conditions of the particular department, ormore specifically, the environmental conditions associated with theparticular food item. For example, based on the data collected from thedelivery system 610 regarding the quantity of certain fruits andvegetables lost to waste, the grocery store may decide to adjust thetemperature at which certain fruits or vegetables are maintained. Thegrocery store may also decide to purchase less of a particular fooditem, such that less of the food item will be lost to food waste overtime. The data from multiple grocery stores may also be aggregated andused to affect wholesale purchasing decisions for the grocery storechain.

Conditional language such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, are otherwise understoodwithin the context as used in general to convey that certain embodimentsinclude, while other embodiments do not include, certain features,elements and/or operations. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or operationsare in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without userinput or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or operationsare included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Any process descriptions, elements or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or elements in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown, or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for stabilizing biochemical nutrientsextracted from organic material, the system comprising: a comminutiondevice configured to comminute the organic material into a slurry, theslurry containing liquid and particles of organic material, thebiochemical nutrients from the organic material being extracted into theliquid; a liquid source fluidly coupled to the comminution device,configured to supply an amount of liquid to the comminution device; abiological tank configured to receive the slurry, wherein the biologicaltank contains a yeast in aerobic conditions, the yeast and the slurryforming a mixture and the yeast stabilizing the biochemical nutrients inthe mixture; and an aeration system operably coupled to the biologicaltank to provide oxygen to the mixture and maintain an oxygen content inthe mixture at approximately 0.5-3 ppm, the aeration system comprised ofa blower coupled to a bubbler, the bubbler being comprised of a tubeextending vertically through the mixture and having a distal end locatedin proximity to the bottom of the biological tank, the tube having anopening at the distal end through which the oxygen bubbles into themixture, wherein the aeration system maintains the mixture in thebiological tank in a non-turbulent quiescent state while providingoxygen to the mixture.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the aerationsystem is configured to homogenously mix the mixture while the mixtureis maintained in the non-turbulent quiescent state.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the particles of organic material in the slurry have aparticle size of less than approximately 3 mm.
 4. The system of claim 1,further comprising a pump fluidly coupled to the comminution device andthe biological tank, wherein the pump is configured to transport theslurry from the comminution device to the biological tank.
 5. The systemof claim 1, further comprising a processing tank fluidly coupled to thecomminution device, configured to receive the slurry from thecomminution device.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the processingtank is configured to heat the slurry in order to pasteurize harmfulmicroorganisms in the slurry.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein theprocessing tank is configured to receive hydrolytic enzymes to hydrolyzeparticles of organic material in the slurry.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the yeast in the in the biological tank comprises Saccharomycescerevisiae.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the yeast is maintained inthe mixture with a concentration of at least approximately 100,000organisms per ml of mixture.
 10. A method of stabilizing biochemicalnutrients in organic material, comprising: receiving the organicmaterial; extracting the biochemical nutrients from the organic materialby comminuting the organic material in the presence of water; mixing thebiochemical nutrients with yeast in a biological tank to form a mixture,the biological tank comprising a blower coupled to a bubbler, thebubbler being comprised of a tube extending vertically through themixture and having a distal end located in proximity to the bottom ofthe biological tank, the tube having an opening at a distal end; andbubbling oxygen into the mixture in the biological tank by passingoxygen through the tube to exit the tube at the opening in the distalend and enter the mixture near the bottom of the biological tank,thereby maintaining the mixture in the biological tank in anon-turbulent quiescent state while providing oxygen to the mixture, andmaintaining an oxygen content in the mixture at approximately 0.5-3 ppm.11. The method of claim 10, wherein extracting the biochemical nutrientscomprises forming a slurry of liquid and particles of organic material.12. The method of claim 11, further comprising adding hydrolytic enzymesto the slurry to hydrolyze the particles of organic material.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising heating the slurry to pasteurizeharmful microorganisms in the slurry.
 14. The method of claim 10,wherein the yeast is Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
 15. The method of claim10, further comprising monitoring the oxygen content of the mixture. 16.The method of claim 10, wherein comminuting the organic materialcomprises comminuting the organic material to a particle size of lessthan approximately 3 mm to extract the biochemical nutrients.
 17. Themethod of claim 10, wherein mixing the biochemical nutrients with ayeast comprises anabolizing the biochemical nutrients to form a biomass,and wherein the percentage of biochemical nutrients that are stabilizedas compared to biochemical nutrients that are anabolized is greater thanapproximately 85%.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the mixture ofyeast and biochemical nutrients is maintained in a stable state inaerobic conditions for at least 14 days.
 19. The method of claim 10,further comprising maintaining the yeast in the mixture at aconcentration of at least approximately 100,000 organisms per ml ofmixture.
 20. The method of claim 10, further comprising operating thebiological tank at ambient temperature and ambient pressure.